Unawakened (16 page)

A lifetime of working on my own should have prepared me for the realities of interviewing with the police without Rob or Colby supporting me. Going to Kenneth’s alone had led to disaster, and I still craved another hit of the red drug and its pleasures.

The world had changed because of the Dawn of Dae, and I still wasn’t sure if it was a good or a bad thing. Rob’s explanations left me with more questions than answers, but I hesitated to press him any more on the subject.

Maybe the world had changed, but I had changed, too. When Rob had drugged me in order to get revenge on Kenneth, I should have been furious.

He had drugged me.

Instead of being angry with him, I had laughed. I hadn’t cared. I wanted to see how far he would go for my sake. In so many ways, Kenneth’s red drug was similar to Rob’s aphrodisiac.

I should have been angry. The sharp bite of betrayal should have pierced through me, but it hadn’t, and I didn’t understand why. Had it been because Rob had dosed himself as well? Was accepting equal risk part of it?

The walk to the police station from Rob’s apartment wasn’t far. Instead of preparing myself for the interview, I spent the entire time wondering what was wrong with me.

Answers once again slipped through my fingers, leaving me with far too many questions.

In the fringe, the police stations were concrete and steel reinforced buildings, more often than not single storied, with the holding cells located in the basement. They were designed to withstand just about anything, not that those from the fringe had the weaponry required to bust in or out of such a place.

They were a symbol of how hopeless such an effort would be, and it worked.

The glass and steel skyscraper belonging to the police blended in with the surrounding condominiums and department stores. At first, I wasn’t sure I was at the right place, forcing me to dig my tablet out of my purse to check the address.

Apparently, the elite didn’t like openly advertising the police were so close to their prized residences. In the fringe, the eagle-in-flight logo marked the front door and a street sign, ensuring everyone who came close to the station knew what it was.

I tucked my tablet back in my purse, clenched my teeth together, and pushed through the double doors. The lobby reminded me of the Ivory Tower with its polished marble floors. A large reception desk made of dark wood stretched along the entire wall to my right, and five women sat behind it.

They ignored me until I strode to them, my heels clicking on the floor.

The woman I approached wore the dark blue of those in the force, her gold and silver badge pinned to her chest. Brown eyes flecked with red and yellow betrayed her as a fire user long before I was close enough to catch a whiff of the smoke clinging to her. A shiver went up my spine.

Instead of turning and fleeing for the safety of the street, I said, “I have an eight o’clock interview with Sergeant Gildroy.”

“Name?” Flames crackled in the woman’s voice, and another shiver ran through me.

“Alexa Daegberht, ma’am.”

My name caught her attention, and she narrowed her eyes and looked me over. “It says here you are from the lower commons.”

I struggled to keep my expression neutral. The lower commons was a nice way of saying the fringe, and the doubt in her tone made me tense. Losing my cool wouldn’t get me admitted for an interview. I forced a smile, the same boot-licking smile I’d used so many times before, and said, “I’m a Bach student, ma’am.”

“It doesn’t say that in our file.”

At Rob’s recommendation, I was wearing my gun under my jacket. With the gun came my carry permit, and I dug for my wallet. I pulled out my college identification card and my carry permit, setting them on the polished surface of the desk. “I can pull out my tablet and show you my access details if you need additional proof.”

The cop snatched up my cards, and when she caught sight of my carry permit, her eyes widened. “Where did you get this?”

Her outburst drew the attention of the other four women, who stared at me with undisguised curiosity.

No matter how much the world changed, some things stayed the same. With Rob, I had enjoyed a sense of equality, but the woman reminded me of why I had worked so hard to rise through the ranks.

Until I secured my Bach, there’d only be exceptions to the rules of prejudice. What would the woman do if she found out I was unawakened, too?

Smiling hurt, but I did it anyway. “It was issued for me after the Dawn, ma’am.”

“Why would someone from the lower commons require a carry permit?”

“I’m one of Dean Lewis’s student assistants, ma’am. After—”

“You’re her.” The woman turned her attention back to my identification cards. “You’re the unawakened.”

So much for hiding what I was. I opened my mouth, but before I could say a word, a hand tapped my shoulder from behind. A shriek burst out of me, and before I realized what I was doing, I spun, yanking my Beretta from its holster.

Kenneth’s dae smirked at me. Without even flinching, he set his hand on the barrel of my gun and gave a gentle push so the barrel no longer pointed at him. “Forgive my partner, ma’am. She’s quite independent. I’m Jacob, and I’ll be interviewing with her.”

My terror at being so close to Kenneth’s dae froze me in place. What he said registered, and my eyes widened. Had Kenneth’s dae just implied he was
my
dae?

I didn’t want anything to do with him, but I didn’t dare make a scene, either. My throat tightened at the thought of being anywhere near Jacob for any extended period of time. If I made a scene, however, I’d be in hot water—and lose my chance to infiltrate the police.

I swallowed back the curses I wanted to spew, fixed my best smile in place, and returned my gun to its holster. “You scared the liver out of me, Jacob.”

“I couldn’t let such a good opportunity go to waste, dear,” Jacob replied, his fake smile a perfect match for mine.

“Third floor, take a right from the elevator and go to the end of the hall,” the cop ordered, returning my cards to me.

Jacob arched a brow at me and nodded in the direction of the elevators across the lobby. Sighing my resignation, I returned my cards to my purse and fell in step with Kenneth’s dae.

After entering the elevator and jabbing the button for the third floor, I hissed, “What are you doing here?”

“Gaining you better access to the system.” Jacob shoved his hands in his pockets and relaxed. The suit he wore marked him with his elite origins. “Just play along.”

I didn’t really have a choice in the matter, which annoyed me almost as much as the fact Jacob was Kenneth’s dae. “Have a nice night last night?”

Jacob’s smile slipped to a scowl before he recovered. “You taught Kenneth a few important lessons.”

“Good. Fuck with me again and it won’t be a fun night.” It was a lot easier to smile at the thought of the two suffering when Rob and I had had access to the drug’s counter. “I’m tired of being pushed around.”

“He noticed. I noticed. He considers us even. You play straight, and he will, too.”

A truce, however temporary, would give me the time to make plans—and deal with Dean Lewis without having to worry about Kenneth stabbing me in the back. I’d still worry. People lied all the time. “I have a bigger fish to fry right now.”

“As does he, and he could use your help.”

It was as close to acknowledgment as I’d likely get from either one of them. I nodded my acceptance of it. The elevator dinged open, and I headed to the right. “Two rules, Jacob.”

“What are they?”

“Rule one: neither of you or anyone you hire will target me or Rob—or anyone close to us. Rule two: don’t touch me.”

“Understood. I’ll let Kenneth know.”

I had doubts it would work, but at least I could pull the plug on them if they violated my terms. We trudged down the hallway in silence. The office we were directed to had the eagle-in-flight logo of the police emblazoned on the door. I pushed through, leaving Jacob to follow in my wake. I headed to the reception desk. “I have an eight o’clock appointment with Sergeant Gildroy.”

Instead of acknowledging or answering me, the woman lifted her watch to her mouth, tapped a button on the side, and said, “Your eight o’clock is here, sir.”

It wasn’t until the woman canted her head to the side as though listening I realized she had an implant. One day, scientists would probably unlock the secrets behind mental communication. Those with the truly advanced units could already receive messages from others, as long as they could record their voice using some device or another.

“Is this gentleman your dae?” the receptionist asked.

“I am at her service.” Jacob stood at my side, his posture relaxed.

Despite my dislike for the dae, Jacob was slick; he didn’t lie, but he also didn’t give away the fact he was Kenneth’s dae instead of mine.

The woman pointed at a glass door to the side and behind her desk. “Go through that door. Sergeant Gildroy will meet you.”

I obeyed, hoping I wasn’t about to make one of the biggest mistakes of my life. The cop downstairs was right to be wary of me.

I was everything the cops hated in fringe rats. If they learned the truth, there would be hell to pay. If they discovered why I was interested in joining the force, the best I could hope for was a swift execution.

Why had I applied? The dead didn’t care what happened to the living. They couldn’t. Terry Moore was gone, too. Dean Lewis might find someone else to handle the dirty work, but the possibility also existed he wouldn’t.

It was too late to back out. If I fell, I’d just make sure I took Jacob down with me.

The door led to an intersection of hallways, and no sooner had I passed over the threshold, I heard the click of a gun cocking. I recognized it was an older pistol; newer models didn’t have hammers, nor were they so loud.

Months of jumping at shadows and learning to pull my Beretta kicked in, and I had my gun out and turned before I remembered where I was and that shooting a cop would be a very quick way to end my life.

Jacob sighed, placed the tip of a finger on the end of my Beretta, and pushed until it pointed at the wall. “My apologies, sir. She’s a bit jumpy today.”

My face heated up as the ramifications of pulling a gun on a cop sank in. Thumbing the safety to on, I holstered my weapon and mumbled an apology.

Laughter answered my embarrassment. “I was aware you would likely be armed, Miss Daegberht, but my curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to find out if you had been making good use of your time with your carry permit. I see that you have. I’m Sergeant Gildroy. I’m pleased to meet you. It’s not every day we find someone from the lower commons who can carry her weight so well.”

I wasn’t sure how tall Sergeant Gildroy was, but he towered over me, and the instant my gun was safety stowed, he likewise holstered his. He wore the blue of the police, but his uniform was accented in silver with the insignia of his rank displayed on his shoulders and chest.

The eagle-in-flight logo of the police was embroidered over his heart, and I wondered if he realized he was providing opponents with a nice target.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” I replied, my face still burning over having pulled my gun on a cop.

The interview hadn’t even started and I was making a mess of it, even if Sergeant Gildroy seemed pleased with my reaction.

“When you said you had partnered with an unawakened, I had not realized it was Miss Daegberht, Jacob. Will you two officially bond?”

It took every bit of my willpower to keep my expression neutral when I really wanted to yank out my handgun, shove it up Jacob’s ass, and fire several times. I smiled until it hurt and let the dae lead the dance, hoping I didn’t step on his plans.

“Undecided. I rather like how rare women like her are.” Jacob grinned at me. “Perhaps in time, if we prove compatible.”

“Interesting. Well, you’re not the first such pairing to walk through my doors. Of course, we will have to work under the restrictions of the unawakened, Miss Daegberht, but having a free dae on the force would be a strong boon to us. Most dae dislike separation from their bonded humans, and the ability of the free dae to partner with anyone is useful in our line of work.” While Sergeant Gildroy smiled, I got the feeling it was more for Jacob’s benefit than mine. I smiled back.

When I made it back to Rob’s apartment, I’d be asking him a lot more questions about the dae, including what a free dae was and what their talk of bonding was about. I had been under the impression the dae got one human—their progenitor—and once their human was gone, that was it.

Not to be outdone by Jacob, I said, “Thank you for agreeing to interview me, sir.”

“Thank you for applying. It’s difficult to get access to the merit-based students, as most view our work as beneath them. Even if your tenure with us is only until you finish your schooling, it’s a boon to us. Perhaps we can make arrangements after you have completed your Bach to continue working with the force. We have positions for the middle and upper commons available. There are posts also for the elite, should you strive to reach such an elevation.”