Six-Spot (Afterlife Book 7) Page 3

  Brittney thought back to her first time with Chloe and couldn't help but smile. "Actually, yes. She is. Now, answer the question. What about Conner? I've always wondered, him being an incubus and all."

  Harper blushed.

  "Oh my God," Brittney said. "You haven't slept with him yet, have you? Harper Hawthorne! How are you going to know if he's a keeper if you don't know if he's good with his--"

  "--Enough," Harper said. "Look, we're taking things slow. I know that doesn't make much sense to you considering you used to go home with whatever guy you fancied for the evening, but some of us like to get to know each other first."

  Brittney felt her face flood with color. She started to clench her jaw and forced herself to stop her teeth from grinding together in an audible snap.

  "I'm sorry," Harper said. "Brittney, I didn't mean that."

  "Yes, you did," Brittney said. She could feel tears stinging behind her eyes, and felt ridiculous. Harper hadn't said anything that wasn't true. She blinked a few times and cleared her throat. "It's fine, Harper. I know who I used to be."

  Harper shook her head. "Brittney, come on. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

  "Sure, I do," Brittney said. "Its like you said. I went home with whoever I wanted, and I never gave it any thought other than whether or not they'd be a good lay."

  "Well, that's not who you are now," Harper said.

  Brittney thought about this for a moment. Then she smiled. "You're right. It's not. I'm finally someone that I actually like. Come on, Harper, we're here. Let's go find Ryan."

  They got out of the SUV, and Brittney quickly checked her compact mirror to make sure her mascara and eyeliner hadn't ran. Luckily, they hadn't. Together, they entered the station. Several of the officers nodded to them, and one of the captain's assistants smiled at them.

  They both knew where Ryan Moore's desk was, and went back to find him. He stood when he saw them. "Agents Conley and Hawthorne, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't know to expect you." He held out his hand and each of them shook it in turn.

  Brittney cleared her throat. "I was wondering if you might have a few minutes to talk to us about a few cases we're working on, Detective Moore. If you're busy, I understand, but it could be important."

  "Anything for the women who took down Trinity," Ryan said.

  "We only took down a wing," Harper said.

  "Don't short-change yourself," Ryan said. "It was a huge accomplishment. Now, what can I help you with?"

  "Well, it's kind of broad," Brittney said. She took a seat at his desk. "We're looking into anything that might have been reported lately that seems out of the norm. I mean things like car crashes, house fires, unknown assaults, anything that seems random but happening to the same people. Series of actions and crimes that don't seem to have any kind of motive."

  Ryan frowned. "That does seem like a rather odd request. I'm not sure how to help."

  Harper smiled. "We think there might be a connection between people with a series of strange, unfortunate events happening to them. Do you have anything for us?"

  For the next two hours, they went over a long list of crimes that had been committed during the last two weeks. By the time they were done, Brittney was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to either down an entire pot of coffee or sleep for twelve hours. She knew they needed to take the information back to Afterlife though.

  "Thanks for your help, Detective," she said. Ryan shook their hands again, and they left the station and headed back to the night club.

  "Do you think any of this is useful?" Harper asked as they drove back to Afterlife.

  Brittney sighed. "Honestly?"

  Harper nodded.

  "No," Brittney said. "I mean, sure, some of this could be bad luck, but none of the incidents he gave us seem like they could be caused by some sort of curse. They're actual crimes. We're not looking for actual crimes. Just weird accidents."

  Harper sighed. "I thought the same. So we learned nothing."

  "Basically," Brittney said. "But we'll give the information to the others and see what they think. Maybe they'll see something we missed. Alec has more experience with this than we do. Chloe too. She should be able to tell us if any of these sound like something the fey would curse on someone."

  Harper nodded.

  The two of them made their way through the now crowded dance floor to the back room, which Harper unlocked with a key. Nobody else was back yet.

  "You'd think Sarah and Chloe would have returned by now," Brittney said, frowning. "It doesn't take that long to talk to one man."

  Harper put a hand on Brittney's arm. "They're fine," she said. "They probably got caught up doing something else after. There's no reason to get worried."

  "Right," Brittney said. She started to say more but the door opened and Alec entered.

  "Hey," Harper said. Alec smiled at her and then noticed Brittney. He offered her a smile too, and then went to get himself a soda out of the mini fridge. "What did you find out?"

  Alec sat down at the table and shook his head. "Nobody at the casino thinks he's cheating from what I can tell. Or if they do, they don't care. He's been a regular there for too long. They like him. As for other winners, there hasn't been anything noticeable. They've seen nothing out of the ordinary. What did you find out?"

  Brittney sighed and passed over the paperwork they'd taken from Ryan Moore. "Nothing useful. All the crimes seem to be just that. Crimes. We don't think they're related to luck, but perhaps you'll see something we missed."

  "Maybe," Alec said. "Though I trust your judgment."

  Brittney raised a brow but said nothing to that as Alec started flicking through the files. She knew her and Alec were friends, but she also knew they hadn't really started out that way. He hadn't liked her at first, and didn't hide it. So to hear that he trusted her judgment was a huge step in their friendship.

  "Thank you," she said. She went to put on some coffee, leaving Alec and Harper alone in the room. When she returned, they were sitting far away from each other, and Alec had just put down the files.

  "Well?" she asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

  Alec shook his head. "You're right. There's nothing in here to suggest that anyone else is suffering from some kind of curse. That's good. That means we don't have a rogue fairy on the loose. But one could have still cursed Brian. Where are Sarah and Chloe?"

  "Not back yet," Harper said.

  Alec frowned.

  "I know," Brittney said. "But it's nothing to worry about."

  She knew she was echoing Harper, but she didn't care. If she said it enough, it was bound to be true. Ever since Phoenix though, she found herself growing paranoid when she hadn't heard from Chloe for a while. There had been a two week period they'd all believed her dead. She didn't ever want to go through something like that again.

  "Of course not," Alec agreed. "You two look tired. Why don't you go home and get some sleep?"

  "Good idea," Harper said. She covered a yawn and stood up. "Come on, Brittney. We'll catch up the others in the morning."

  "Sure," Brittney said.

  The two of them left together and went back to their house. Their dog met them at the door, yipping for a walk. It was a chocolate lab puppy that they'd adopted from a shelter before leaving for Phoenix. Brittney's brother, Peter, had taken care of her while they were gone.

  "Hey, Ash," Brittney said, kneeling down and scratching the puppy behind the ears. "Do you want your walk?"

  She turned to Harper. "I'm going to take her out, alright?"

  "Sure," Harper said. "I'm going to bed. I'll take the morning walk. Hopefully she hasn't torn anything up this time..."

  Brittney laughed -- Ash had chewed up one of their throw pillows the last time they'd left her alone in the house all day. There had been stuffing everywhere. She went inside and got a leash, attached it to the puppy's collar and then took her out for a walk.

  She'd always wanted a dog, but her last apartment didn't allow pets. She tal
ked to Ash while they walked, calling her a good dog, and stopping on occasion to pet her or feed or her a dog treat when she walked by something without barking.

  "Hey."

  Brittney turned to see a middle-aged man approaching. He was leading his own dog; a full grown German Shepard.

  "Hi," she said.

  "That's a cute pup," he said. "Chocolate lab?"

  "Yeah," Brittney said. As little as she wanted to strike up a conversation with this stranger, it was one of their neighbors and she wasn't going to offend him by refusing to talk. Besides, maybe he could offer some tips on dog training.

  "This is Ash. And I'm Brittney."

  "Chris," he said. He held out a hand and they shook. Brittney smiled at him. He was cute, in an older gentleman sort of way. There had been a time when she might have tried to seduce him. "Hey, you know you ought to be careful walking around at night around here."

  Brittney arched a brow. "Really? The real estate agent who rented me my house told me that this was a very safe neighborhood. Very low crime rates."

  "Yes, well," Chris said. "That might be so, but there were two men killed near her just a few months ago. They had their necks snapped. It was very brutal."

  Brittney winced. "That's terrible," she said.

  She knew all about the men's deaths. They'd been two human loan sharks who'd been after her brother. When she and Harper had stopped them from hurting Peter, they'd come to get them out of the way. Sarah, who'd been a fury at the time, had shown up and killed the men before they'd had the chance to hurt Brittney or Harper.

  "Did they ever catch the people who did it?" Brittney asked.

  "The case was closed," Chris said. "But nobody around here is convinced that it was ever solved. My brother is on the force. He told me he's still investigating."

  "Really?" Brittney asked. "Who's your brother? Maybe I know him. I work with the police sometimes."

  "Do you?" Chris said. "I wouldn't have thought it. No offense, but you just don't look the type. Anyway, his name is George Grady."

  Brittney kept her face still. "No, I haven't met him," she lied. She had met George Grady; he'd come to Afterlife with his partner, Marcia Livingston, to interview the owners of the club. They'd both seemed to think that Afterlife had some sort of connection to disappearances that had been happening at the time. In their defense, it was true; there had been a vampire using the club as feeding grounds.

  It wasn't good, though, that George Grady's brother was in her neighborhood. What if he put together that Harper and Brittney lived there now, and that the murders had happened right after they'd gotten their place? What if they connected it to Afterlife?

  "Anyway, I should get home," Chris said. "You be careful, Brittney. And you be good, Ash."

  Brittney forced a smile in place. "Nice to meet you, Chris. Come on, Ash. Let's get home."

  SIX

  On a cold night, Chloe had been waiting casually behind the dumpster, watching the vampire come out of his precious burger joint, his arms loaded with garbage. She hadn't understood why he working some menial labor job when he could have anything he wanted, but she'd never understood vampires.

  That's why she had to kill him.

  She put her stake in her hand, and waited for him to toss out the garbage. He was adjusting his bus boy's uniform when she stepped out from hiding. She grinned at him, unaware of just how feral she looked in that moment. Her long brown hair was matted from going unbrushed for too many days in a row, and her clothes were dirty. She hadn't showered in a little over a week.

  It didn't matter.

  "You're a special number," she told him.

  "Excuse me?" he asked, turning toward her.

  "Three hundred," Chloe said, and ran at him. The vampire moved quickly, throwing her away from him before her spike could connect. His eyes flashed black, and his fangs gleamed but then, unlike the others, he transformed back into his human self.

  "Wait," he said. "What are you doing?"

  "I'm killing you," Chloe said.

  She winced. Really? That was how it was going to be? She didn't even have something cool she could have said? Just I'm killing you? She should have planned some epic speech. This was her three hundredth vampire, after all.

  She shook off her ineptitude at cool catch phrases and ran at him again, levitating as she did. She kicked at his chest, and he stumbled backward, unprepared in his human form for the assault. He transformed again, then returned to human.

  As she drove her stake at his chest, he grabbed her wrist, bent it backward, and plucked the stake from her hand. He tossed it in the dumpster.

  "Hey!" she screamed. "You can't do that!"

  "Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "You can try to kill me, but I can't throw away your stake?"

  "No, you can't," she said. "You have no idea what we've been through together."

  "You do know it's not a person, right?" the vampire asked. "I mean, it's a tool, sure, but it's not a person. You haven't been through things together. That makes it sound like--"

  "--Screw you," Chloe said. "I've killed hundreds of your kind with that, and I'm not letting you get rid of it!"

  The vampire sighed. "I mean, is it really that important to you?"

  "Yes!"

  The vampire pulled himself up over the ledge of the dumpster, grabbed the stake, and then held it out. "Okay, take it back."

  Chloe stared at him in surprise. "You're kidding, right?"

  "Well, it clearly means a lot to you."

  "Well yes," Chloe said. "But I'm going to use it to kill you."

  She grabbed the stake from his hand and tried to look for an opening. He just stood there. When she dove at him, he side-stepped her, and she ran into the dumpster's side. She fell over, winced, and got back to her feet. She fully expected him to have transformed back into his vampiric form and be preparing to snap her neck.

  Instead, he was just standing there.

  "Damn it," Chloe said. "Why aren't you fighting back? You always fight back! Fight back, damn it! Transform! Change!"

  The vampire shook his head. "I'm not like them."

  "That's a lie!"

  "No, it's not, and if you want to kill me, I'm going to stop you, because I'm not ready to die just yet," he said. "But I'm not going to hurt you."

  Chloe glared at him. "You hurt my wrist," she pointed out.

  The vampire sighed. "You were about to stake me. I could have done a lot worse. I just meant that I'm not going to kill you. I don't kill people. That's not who I am."

  "You're a vampire!"

  "And you're a fairy," he said. "The fey don't usually wander around looking like druggies attacking random vampires at night."

  Chloe scowled. "I do not look like a drug user."

  "Are you on drugs?"

  "No!"

  The vampire held up his hands. "I'm just asking. Because, no offense meant, but you really need a bath. I can get you a hotel room if you'd like. I have money."

  "You have money," Chloe said. "You're working this dead-beat job but you have the money to buy some random druggie a hotel room so they can bathe?"

  The vampire narrowed his eyes. "I have my reasons for working here."

  "Is it because there are lots of tourists?" Chloe asked. "Must make great feeding grounds for you, blood-sucker."

  "No," he said. "I told you. I don't kill."

  "And I don't believe you," Chloe said.

  She wondered why she was still talking. This was the longest conversation she'd ever had with a vampire; for that matter, it was the longest conversation she'd had with anyone for a long time. She'd been alone for too long. She shook her head and backed away. She stared at him, trying to decide the best method of attack. She had her pepper spray in her purse, but it had been knocked to the ground when she'd ran into the dumpster. Did she have time to grab it, dig it out, and use it before he killed her? She didn't think so.

  "I don't care what you believe," the vampire said, starting to sound angry. "Look, come ba
ck tomorrow. You want to kill me after tomorrow night, and I'll let you. God knows I deserve it after my many sins. But give me until tomorrow, alright?"

  "One last meal?" Chloe quipped. She felt a little prouder of that.

  "Look, you're in no condition to take me on right now," he said. "Maybe you usually are, but right now you're weak. When was the last time you ate?"

  Chloe thought back. She realized it had been at least two days. She'd been stalking this vampire for that long, learning his nightly habits, which consisted of working this job, and when she was on a stakeout, sometimes she forgot to eat.

  "That's none of your business."

  "Come inside," he said. "I'll make you a burger."

  "No."

  "Yes," he said. "Look, the restaurant is full. You'll be safe in there."

  "I'm not scared of you," Chloe said, truthfully.

  She hadn't been scared in years. But he was right; she was weak, and she was hungry. It wouldn't hurt to have a burger before staking the jerk. Maybe then she would be able to finish the job.

  "Fine, you can cook me something."

  She picked up her purse, put her stake away, and followed him inside. He'd been lying; the place wasn't packed. In fact, there was only a few customers, and a couple of cooks. There was one other bus boy as well.

  "Hey," the vampire said. "I'm going to cook this girl something, alright? She's starving. And broke."

  "I'm not starving," Chloe snapped.

  She couldn't deny that she was broke, though. When was the last time she'd taken out a vampire who had money? She couldn't recall. She ignored the pitying looks the others were shooting her.

  "I'm going to use the bathroom," she said.

  The vampire shrugged and she went to the ladies' room. She stared at herself in the mirror, really seeing herself for the first time in a long time. She looked like a mess. She splashed some water on her face, telling herself it didn't matter. She was here to kill a murderer, not to look pretty. Nevertheless, she ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to straighten it a little. Eventually she gave it up as a lost cause.

  Did she really look like a drug user? She turned one way in the mirror and then the other. She was skinny, but that wasn't uncommon for fey. Of course, her face was gaunt. There were shadows under her eyes. But she hardly slept. Not really her fault.