Trust Me When the Sun Goes Down (8 page)

I ventured a sympathetic smile.  “They’re riding you rough, huh?”

“Rough I can handle, it’s all the goddamn…”  Mason forced a tight lipped smile.  “Never mind, forget I said anything.  Allow me to escort you to my office, madam,” he said with a grand bow.  “I do apologize for the dramatics.”

“You are such a cheeseball,” I laughed, stepping out into the hallway where Lee and the rest of my squad waited.

“Mmm, on second thought, maybe we should run out and get some cheeseballs.  I - Whoa, what’s with the suit convention?” He stopped short in the hallway.  “What’s up, fellas?  Who’s hungry for cheeseballs?”

Lee gave him a friendly nod, the others pretty much ignored him. 

“Are you in some kind of new trouble I don’t know about?”  Mason cocked a brow in my direction as he led me down the corridor.

“Nope, this is pretty much standard operating procedure.”

“Good.  Bishop will skin me alive if something happened to you now.”

“I’m pretty sure he has other things on his mind these days.”  Carys being one of them if everyone else was to be believed, but I didn’t say that out loud.  As we reached Mason’s office, I stopped at the door.  “Guys, do you mind waiting out in the lobby area?  You too, Lee,” I added when he moved to follow me in.  “I’ll be fine, I promise.  I’d like to have a few words in private with Mason.”

Lee hesitated for a moment before giving me a quick wink and a nod. “Holler if you need us, darlin’.”

“Must get awful crowded in your bed at night,” Mason quipped, lounging behind an enormous desk of chrome and glass, piled high with electronic doodads I couldn’t recognize.

“That’s about the only place they don’t follow me these days.  I think it’s a bit of overkill myself, now that Lodinn’s gone.”

Mason shrugged, slumping lower in the chair.  “You’re still the Elder, that means you got a babysitter whether you like it or not.” 

“Yeah well, Rob obviously doesn’t think I’m in all that much danger.”  It came out more petulant sounding than I’d intended, and Mason’s head tilted to one side as he studied me closer.

“Aw, is there trouble in paradise already?”

“No, I’m just used to him being glued to my hip,” I replied glumly.  “It’s a little disconcerting to find him off doing things on his own.”

“What kind of things?”

“That’s just it, I have no idea. I get a text and then nothing for hours.  I think if I knew I might feel better about it.  Less anxious, at least.”

“Want me to have him tailed?”

“No, of course not!  I don’t want to be
that
girlfriend.  I don’t think he’s doing anything bad, I’m just… whining entirely too much.  What’s new with you?”  A change of subject was definitely in order. 

“Just the chaos you see before you.”  He spread his hands wide.  “I shouldn’t complain though, at least I got rid of Zoe.  She was driving me insane.”

“It sounds like a short trip these days,” I teased.  “What happened to Zoe?  Did she wash out already?”  The caustic bartender had quite a mouth on her, but I’d thought she had more mettle and determination than to quit already.

“Oh no, she’s still around.  I stuck her with Corazon, she needs a new partner anyway.” 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?  Her personality isn’t exactly light and bright, I’m not sure how great she’d be at mentoring someone.”  I could only imagine the kind of training Zoe would get.

“Neither is Zoe’s.”

“And you thought pairing her with Corazon would help with that?”  I’d thought Mason’s playful personality might be good for Zoe, and I assumed Bishop had thought so too or he wouldn’t have paired them together originally. 

“Hey, I can only be in twenty places at once.  I’ll check up on her when I’ve got time to hit the streets again, but for now all my energy’s been tied up here.”

“I guess that answers my question on where you stand on the increased violence lately.”

“What increased violence?”  His brows drew together in confusion.  “There haven’t been any attacks on the Order since Jakob spoke out against it.”

“I’m talking about violence against humans.”

“This is a big city, Anja, there will always be violent crime here.”

“Well, the news is running with it big time.  Did you know that there have specifically been more deaths with neck trauma lately?  You know what that means as well as I do.”

Mason didn’t seem too alarmed.  “They’re making a bigger deal about it than it is, they always do.”

“Carter might not think so.  This is exactly the kind of stuff that brings him and his hunting skills running.”

“Great, that’s perfect.  Exactly what we need on top of everything,” he groaned, covering his eyes with one hand.  “If he comes down here and starts burning up vamps, all that’s going to do is stir up more trouble.”

“True, but you have to admit, it’s a powerful deterrent.  How many deaths do you think could be avoided by one well placed flaming arrow?”

Mason’s jaw dropped, his eyes flashing in mock outrage.  “Anja Evans, I’m surprised at you.  Are you actually condoning murder?”

“No, of course not.  But I’m learning to pick the lesser of two evils, and killing killers might be the best way to clean up the mess around here.”

“It’s true, there’s nothing like a big display of power to bring the masses in line in my experience,” he considered aloud.  “Still, maybe you should try to contact your buddy and tell him we’re dealing with it on our own.  We don’t need him muddying up the waters.  Especially since there’s a bounty on his head big enough to tempt a sheikh.”

“There is?” 

“Yep.  So if he shows up, he’d better watch his back.  He might not have any friends in town.”

I had a good idea who was offering the bounty, but I knew it’d be useless to confront him on it.  If Carter did come to town, I’d have to trust that he was good enough to take care of himself.  “I have no idea how to contact him, but I can try.  In the meantime, we’ve got to do whatever we can to keep this sort of thing down.  I know you guys don’t have an official position on killing humans, but you have to agree it’s bad for all of us to draw attention to ourselves.”

“I know, we’re short handed though.  Like I said, I haven’t hit the streets in a while.  It’s great Bishop sent all this junk, but what I seriously need are bodies.  I could train any shaved ape to do it, but I need candidates to work with.  I was hoping to bend Bishop’s ear about it but he took off so quickly, I didn’t have a chance.”

“You haven’t talked to him then?  I thought he went right back to Rome.  Or did he go off after Carys after all?”  I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had.

“No, he’s back at work, alright.  Just between the time change and the work piled up to my eyeballs, something always comes up.”

“I haven’t heard from him, I hope he’s okay,” I said more to myself than anything else.

“Phone works two ways, you know.”

“I know, but I haven’t wanted to bug him.  I think it might be for the best if we gave each other some space right now.  I’m sure the last thing he needs is to hear from me about how great things are going.”

“I thought we were going to hell in a neck trauma shaped handbasket?  Isn’t that what you’ve been all worried about?”

“You know what I mean, personally.  I don’t want to rub his nose in the fact that I chose Rob over him.”

“Nobody says you have to rub his nose in it, you just have to be a friend.  Bishop’s a big boy, I’m sure he can handle it.  This is nothing compared to the bullshit Carys put him through.”

“The last thing I want to do is be anything like Carys.  No, for the moment I think the ball is in Bishop’s court.  If he wants to say hi and tell me how things are going, then he can, but I’m not going to chase him down and flaunt my happiness in front of him.”

“And
that
is why you’re nothing like Carys,” Mason grinned, dropping a playful wink.     

I smiled back, feeling better about things.  Mason really was like a big, cuddly brother.  I honestly hoped he and my sister found their way back to each other sooner than later.  But I kept quiet instead of saying so, I didn’t want to ruin his good mood considering how crappy it’d been when I first got there.  There was something else I wanted to ask and he was one of the few people I trusted enough to ask. 

“Hey listen, I have a question…”

“Don’t you always?”

“Funny.  How long did it take you to adjust to getting up earlier and staying up later?  You know, after you were turned.”

“A while, why?”

“A while as in a few weeks?”

“Try a few years.  Why?  You feeling the need to get up before the sun goes down?  You do pretty good considering your age, it must be your
Ellri
blood.  Most newbs don’t see the sun set for a while.”

Holy Hannah, a few years?
  Maybe I was right to find his new hours a trifle odd?  “No, it’s not about me.  It’s Rob.  He’s staying awake near dusk and dawn a lot better than he used to and it’s only been a few weeks.” 

“Huh, that’s weird.  But ah, he’s not the run of the mill newbie either.  Your bloodline’s a pretty powerful one, thanks to Jakob, and I have to assume that he’s ah… partaking of your lovely charms, right?”

“Um, yes,” I answered hesitantly, not sure what that had to do with it. 

“Are you sharing your blood with him?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes.  Why?”

“Hey, I’m not asking for personal reasons.  All I’m saying is, the more blood you give him, the stronger he’ll get.  Way stronger than if he drinks from humans alone.”

“Oh.  I didn’t know that.”  Yet another thing neither Jakob nor Bishop had bothered to tell me.  “Do you think that might explain why he’s able to stay up later now?”

“Sure, why not?” he shrugged.  “It’s not like Rob was a run of the mill guy when he was alive either.”

“That’s true.  He wasn’t entirely human to begin with, so maybe that gave him an advantage?”

“Who knows?  I wouldn’t be surprised with that family.  Speaking of family…”

I knew exactly where he was going with this, but I wasn’t ready to entertain the idea.  “She just needs more time.  What Lodinn did to her isn’t something she can shake off.”

“I know what she’s been through, that’s the whole point.  Hanna shouldn’t have to live with those memories.  I still say we should do a little rearranging in her mental file cabinet.”

“No, not unless she asks us to.”  I held my ground.  “She deserves the courtesy of recovering however she sees fit.” 

“And in the meantime, we just let her carry around all that hurt inside?”

It was easy to see how devastated Mason was that Hanna hadn’t come running into his arms when Lodinn’s compulsion was lifted.  I didn’t want to speak for Hanna’s reasons behind why she felt ashamed to be near him, but I had to say something to try to ease his suffering over it.  “That’s what people do when they survive a tragedy.  She needs to work through it on her own and all we can do is be there for her if she wants us to be.  I can’t help feeling like if we cheat her of the process, it will manifest in some other way with her psyche.”

“She won’t even talk to me.”  His face crumpled in pain and I leaned forward to cover his hand with mine.    

“I know.  She barely talks to me, and when she does, it’s not about anything real.  Like I said, she needs more time.”

“Hey, I’m trying to give her space, but how long am I supposed to wait for her to pick up the phone?  I may have an eternity, but she doesn’t.”

“The phone works both ways, you know.” I offered him his own advice.  “You could always call as a friend instead of trying to rekindle things between you.  Maybe if the pressure’s off and she doesn’t think you’re expecting things to go right back to the way they were before, she might start to relax.  If anyone could get her talking again, my money’s on you.”

“Be a friend,” he nodded.  “I can do that, easy as lying.”  The look on his face made me think he was girding himself for battle. 

“You look like you expect that to be harder than it sounds.”

“Keep her from knowing I’d slit my own throat if I thought it would help her feel better?  Yeah, it’ll be hard to be around her and not show what I’m feeling when all I want to do is take her in my arms.  But I can play buddy-buddy if that’s what she needs right now.”

I rose to my feet, glad to have helped him take a step closer to Hanna, even if it was a baby step.  “Good, like I said, if anyone can pull her through this, I’m betting it’s you.” 

  “Thanks, sis.  But if she asks me to take those memories away…”

I stared at him long and hard before letting out a long breath.  “Then call me, we’ll do it together.”

My security force and I went back to my office and I started to think about putting them to better use.  What if I hired my own private police detail to patrol the streets and take a bite out of crime?  There might be some kind of legal problem with it I’d have to look into, but if I set up my own security firm, it could probably be done. 

As soon as I got there, I pulled Maggie into my office to brainstorm ideas on how it’d work, dragging Lee to weigh in with his opinion as well.  If I hired vamps they’d have an edge over human cops, because they’d know all the likely places where vampires might hunt humans to start with, and they’d be able to sniff out blood and hear violence before a crime was reported. 

Lee argued that a small squad of werewolves might do even better, but I was hesitant to bring them in.  What if the local vamps took it as an
us
versus
them
sort of thing if I set shifters to police them?  The last thing I wanted to do was foster any enmity between our two people.  We tabled the discussion for now, each armed with a list of questions to pursue. 

There was an email from Felix with a couple more candidates for the local magistrate opening.  None of the ones he’d sent so far had struck me as a good fit and these weren’t particularly encouraging either.  They looked more like enforcers than politicians, and it seemed like we definitely weren’t on the same page about what kind of person would be best for the position.

He also sent a brief mention of another vampire killing, presumed to be at the hands of my buddy, the hunter.  I had to admit, it was hard to drum up much sorrow for the target once I did some digging on him.  Was Mason right?  Had my views changed so much that I condoned killing for the greater good?  The idea didn’t sit right with me, and I thought maybe it
was
time to reach out to Carter and have a talk about his methods. 

Only I had absolutely no idea how to go about it.  If I thought flashing a bat signal in the night sky would do it, I’d have one made.  All kidding aside though, I had no idea how to contact him outside of that pub in England.  Should I post an ad on Craig’s List?  Make an appeal to him on my Facebook status?  Would I be able to figure out his Twitter handle?

My phone buzzed with a text message, definitely enough to distract me from the problem once I saw it was from Rob. 
What kind of trouble you up to?

Trying to figure out how to contact a killer.
  I sent back.

Who you need taken out?  I’m up for the job.

Jeez Louise, why was I not surprised? 
No, I’m looking for a specific guy, the hunter.

Can’t help you there.  Fancy a drink?

Sure.  I’m at the office.  Meet here or I could come to you?

How about we meet up in the middle?  Nightshade?

So Nightshade was in the middle of wherever he was and my office.  It didn’t help me pinpoint him a whole lot. 
Sounds good.  See you there.

Love you heaps. 

Buckets and buckets full
, I sent back with a smile.  Not that I was particularly dressed for the club in my jeans and Starfleet Academy t-shirt, but I had a pretty sweater I could put on to dress it up a bit and it wouldn’t look too out of place in the mild spring weather.  Maggie begged off going, and Gunnar elected to stay behind as well, but Lee and the rest of the boys tagged along. 

Rob wasn’t there yet by the time we got to Nightshade, but I didn’t mind.  It gave me time to sound Leander out about an idea that’d been simmering in the back of my mind for a while.  I spotted the Australian twin chilling at a back table with a pair of brunettes that looked young enough to still be in high school. 

“Bless me, it’s our illustrious leader!” Leander cried out, looking suave as usual in his purple suit and shiny tie.  “Drinks on the house in Her Grace’s honor!”

I wasn’t sure what the occasion was, but I accepted it with poise, waiting for the appreciation to settle down before I dove into my proposition.  The jailbait at the table scooted over to make room for me and I realized they were both vampires, so who knew how old they actually were? 

“You’re acting like it’s a big deal, me being here,” I smiled, accepting the fruity zombie placed in front of me. 

“It is.  Been ages since you last stopped in,” Leander replied, draining off one beer and accepting another.

“I’m sorry, I had other things to deal with and I thought it best not to bring my troubles to your doorstep.”  Meaning I hadn’t wanted Lodinn to follow me there, lest the place burn to the ground like the
Café Du Nord
. 

“No worries, Your Grace.  That was a piece of bad business there.  Glad to see you safely on the other side of it.  Sorry to hear about Jakob as well.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant exactly, but decided it’d be best to ignore it and move on.  “It’s time to look to the future, and that’s why I’m here, actually.  As you know, we’re looking to replace Marcus and find a new magistrate for the region.”

“May his soul find peace.”  He raised his glass and I did too, taking a polite sip.  “He was a good ‘un.  He’ll be sorely missed.”

“Yes, he will,” I nodded solemnly.  “I was sort of hoping you might give me your opinion on who might fill his shoes?”

“Me?” he blinked, a slow smile spreading across his face. 

“Why not?  I trust your judgment.  You were right on target about Terry Byrne and you know what we need around here.”

“That tosser,” he muttered darkly.  “Still makes me hot under the collar when I think about how he stuffed up the process.”  

“Exactly.  I’m searching for a candidate who’s looking out for the best interests of our people at heart, not to line his pockets.  Anyone in mind?”

Leander gave it his serious attention, brow furrowing as he took a deep drink.  “That’s a tall order,” he replied, scratching at the side of his neck.  “Most that would be well suited have got their own business interests to look after.  Could always go with someone who’s never held office before as long as they’ve got a good head on their shoulders.  After all, you can always give them their walking papers if they don’t pull their weight.”

That’s exactly what I’d been thinking myself.  “Then you don’t think prior experience is all that important?”

“Nah.  Job’s not all that difficult when it comes down to it.  Integrity’s the main ingredient that’s found wanting these days.  That and the patience to talk to the masses without losing their head.” 

“What about you?  Have you ever thought about taking on a position like magistrate before?”

“Me?” he blinked again, clearly stunned. 

“Why not?  You’ve been a respected member of the community for quite some time and you’ve shown an interest in local politics before.  I think we could do a lot worse than to have you.”

“I don’t know what to say, Your Grace.  I’m flattered, of course, but I… to be honest, I’ve never thought about it before.  Me, the magistrate,” he said, a not altogether unpleased expression on his face.  “Imagine that.”

“Think it over.  Talk to Jarrod and see if he can’t spare you for a few hours a week.  We can talk more later about what it would entail specifically.” 

“I will, thank you,” he promised, sitting back to nurse his beer, a thoughtful expression descending. 

Satisfied that I’d made at least some progress for the night, I relaxed, brightening as I spotted Rob a few minutes later.  His gaze caught mine and his head came up in a reverse nod before he crossed the room to join us. 

“Budge up a bit, yeah?  There’s a good lad.”  Rob tapped Leander lightly on the shoulder until he scooted over to make more room, sliding into the seat next to me.  “Hullo,” he said, just for me.

“Hi,” I smiled, greeting him with a kiss, not caring one bit who might be watching.  To my delight, Rob didn’t mind the public display of affection at all, his hand slipping under the back of my neck to pull me closer for a more thorough job of it. 

Leander cleared his throat after a few moments.  “Crikey, you two sure you wouldn’t rather have a spot of privacy?”

“Why, you got a room in the back to offer us?” Rob said with the hint of a smile while I blushed like crazy.

“I’ve missed him is all,” I said, taking a long drink to cool off. 

“It’s only been a few hours.”

“You know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

His hand settled on my thigh, stroking over the denim in ever widening circles “Maybe I’d better stay away more often then.”

“Don’t you dare!” I squealed, when his touch roamed too high for public, and Rob chuckled into his beer. 

“What’s new with you lot?” he asked, composed as anything. 

“To begin with, you might just be looking at the new magistrate of these here parts,” Leander drew himself up importantly, holding onto the lapels of his suit coat.   

“How much sauce have you had?” Rob cocked a brow at me, and I kicked him under the table. 

“Be nice, I think Leander would do a bang up job.  Don’t you?”

“I reckon he would,” he agreed, holding up his beer in a salute.  “To Leander, a legend in his own mind.”

“Oi, careful, mate.”  Leander scratched at his face with his middle finger.  “I could have you thrown in the dungeon for that.”

“You ain’t got a dungeon,” Rob scoffed.

“Maybe I’ll have to draft up a budget what includes one then, right Anja?” 

“Oh, I like the sound of that,” I played along.  “Maybe we could build one on Alcatraz?”

“Some place to secret away the undesirables.”  Leander nodded his approval even as Rob scowled.

“Is that what I am now?”

They bickered back and forth, the insults getting more and more barbed until it descended into taunts of “get stuffed” and hand gestures, but it was all in fun. 

This was a more relaxed Rob, similar to how I’d seen him act in London at his favorite watering hole, Pandora’s Cross.  He touched me often, a hand on my thigh, brushing the hair back over my shoulder, a light knead of the muscles on my neck.  They warmed me more than hot cocoa on a cold winter’s night. 

A small crowd grew, as it often did when I put in a public appearance.  Eventually the conversation turned to more serious topics, namely speculation on who’d been so careless to leave bodies behind for the cops to find.  Rob sounded surprised to hear it, but not overly concerned.  “Accidents will happen,” he shrugged.

“These are looking more than accidental,” I pointed out.  “And the more the media picks up on it, the worse it’s going to be for us.”

“Too right there, violence is bad for business any way you slice it,” Leander agreed. 

Finally, the voice of reason.   Now, more than ever, I was convinced he was the right man for the job. 

“So a few humans died, it’s no more than they do to themselves,” one of the guys said, blowing it off.  I think his name was Thomas or Ted, definitely a T name.  “No one cares.”

I fixed him with a quelling stare.  “I care, and I’m pretty sure the Order’s going to care if it gets too many people looking into it.  Keeping ourselves hidden from human eyes is the biggest law we’ve got.”

“They’re too busy with their heads up their arses lately,” a plump vampire piped up, her high pitched voice instantly grating on my nerves.  “They haven’t got time to look into it.  Besides, I haven’t seen any reports of vampires in the news,” she snorted. 

“And how long do you think that will last when bodies keep turning up suffering from traumatic blood loss from the neck?”

T guy didn’t seem to care.  “So, we’ll compel the problem to go away.  Jakob kills when he wants to.  We’re at the top of the food chain, why not take what we want?”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t act with courtesy and respect.  We all used to be human, it can’t be that hard to remember how to act like one.”

They looked at me as if I had lobsters coming out of my ears. 

Rob cleared his throat.  “I think we can all agree, a bit of discretion is wanted.  Like Leander said, too much violence is bad for business.  We don’t need that kind of scrutiny.”

“Struth,” Leander nodded and the others added their grumbling assent. 

Suddenly I didn’t feel like hanging around anymore.