Hunting Colby

Chapter Thirteen

An out-of-breath parking attendant returned, keys dangling from his fingers. “The car’s gone. I’ll call the cops.” He hurried to the desk and lifted the phone.

I sighed and set my hands on my hips. There were so many possibilities, but the most logical was a certain pissed-off shifter male. Colby probably carried an extra set of keys and had a way of locating his car.

Mutt’s eyes went dark as the night. “What does he mean, gone?” His voice matched his gaze.

I pressed my hand against his chest as he took a step toward the frightened parking attendant. “Colby took it.”

Shaking his head, he focused on me. “Say what?”

“He was here, we fought, and I assume he took his car.” I glanced at the attendant. “Don’t call the police. We know who has the car.” How he found it would be a question for another day. I turned from everyone before they could see the misery in my eyes and wended along the sidewalk.

Mutt shambled next to me. “I liked that car. I was looking forward to driving it.” He harrumphed and stuck his hands in his pockets as we continued to the end of the block in silence. “I should have kept my hat with me.” The sound of material tearing had me twisting to face him. He’d torn the bottom of his T-shirt off and tied it around his head to hide his pointed ears. “I can’t wind up on YouTube. The brotherhood would crucify me.” He shuddered. “Really, they would.”

“I know. Remember, I work for your king. Who do you think they’d send to hammer the silver nails in?” My gaze traveled from his outfit to mine. “God, I look like a hooker and you my pimp.”

“What did you and Colby fight about?” The scant amount of pedestrians on the sidewalks gave us a wide girth; some even crossed the street. People had a sixth sense about predators. The smart ones listened to that instinct.

“I can’t travel on the subway to Brooklyn like this. I’ll end up killing some jerk who tries to proposition me.” I was in that kind of mood. “We’ll go to your place. I’m sure with some creative rolling and tying, a pair of your pants might fit me.”

“Sure. Once you tell me what has you so twisted in knots.” Mutt had stepped closer until we were almost touching.

I shrugged. He might as well know, considering I’d be taking my frustration out on his hide while we trained. “Colby’s being a jerk. It’s a natural shifter trait. Most males carry it.” I crossed my arm over my chest to cover the exposed flesh.

“Hmm…I hear the females carry the stubborn traits.” He sauntered ahead before I could retaliate.

“Colby attacked Cesio in beast form because he touched me.” I increased my pace, quite a feat in heels.

A small smile curled Mutt’s lips. “That’s cute.”

I sputtered and almost sprained my ankle. “What?”

“He really likes you a lot.” Mutt swung his arm over my shoulder and pulled me against him in a friendly manner.

“He left me.” I swung my hand in front of us. “On the street dressed like Rose.”

“He left you with me. He knows I won’t let anything happen to you.” He gave me a gentle squeeze. “Once he’s cooled off and thinking with his big head instead of his little head, he’ll be back. Trust me. I saw the way he looked at you, especially in that dress.” He chuckled. “Maybe we shouldn’t have let you wear Rose’s clothes.”

“Hindsight is twenty-twenty.”

We continued our journey in a comfortable silence. The cabs weren’t stopping when I waved and sped away when Mutt did. I’m not sure if it was Mutt’s protective arm around my shoulder that deterred any passing comments from the gangs we passed or my daggered glares, but no one bothered us.

Mutt lived in the western part of Chelsea. He owned a warehouse that he’d converted to art studios and rented out. A portion of the lower floor he kept for himself. The art world accepted his uncommon hours. The rent he earned paid for the building, but not much else.

The dark, empty streets didn’t bother me. I was raised as a predator in the jungle. Things that lurked in the dark should fear me. The building covered half a block, and the entrance to his home was in the back.

He undid the four padlocks and chains on the sliding garage door before opening it. A chill always accompanied the air in his home; the vaulted metallic ceiling made it difficult to keep the place warm. The majority of the space was used as a practice arena for fighting. Weapons of all shapes and sizes decorated the wall. Most of them were gifts from his brothers, and he had no clue how to handle them. Mutt’s gifts lay in hand-to-hand combat. Even as a human he’d earned two black belts, one in karate and the other in mixed martial arts, which warranted him enough attention to be turned vampire.

I trained him in jujitsu and all the weapons on the wall, from swords to guns. He also hired a shaolin warrior to teach him their techniques. It didn’t leave us much time, and hunting for his missing friend screwed our schedule.

The sound of the shower running reached my ears as I crossed the threshold. I belly-flopped on the floor, sliding the gun from my thigh holster. “Mutt, down.”

He followed my orders as I was saying them. His puzzled expression cleared as he heard the noise.

“You have any roommates I don’t know about?” I released the safety on the gun and crept forward, scanning the dark corners. Discarded clothes lay on the floor by the bathroom door, and a faint, familiar scent reached my nose.

“No, the only person who knows how to get in without keys is—”

“Alcide.” I set the safety and returned my gun to its holster, then opened the bathroom door. Steam poured out, and I could barely make out his form behind the shower stall glass.

He sang. I couldn’t understand, since it was in Italian, but it sounded sad. He paused as my heels clicked on the tile. “Hello?”

I opened the shower door. “Half the city is looking for you.”

He blinked the water from his eyes as he assessed me from head to toe. Then a smile grew on his face. “And the other half wants me dead.” His smile wasn’t the only thing that grew.

Reaching around him, I turned the dial to ice-cold and slammed the door.

His screeches trailed behind me as I exited.

Mutt sat in his favorite chair. It was so old it had molded to his shape. “You have this way of leaving a lasting impression on everyone you meet. I need to learn how to do this.” He grinned as I shot him a look.

“I’m stealing clothes.”

“Mi casa es su casa.” He watched the bathroom doorway with interest.

Scavenging through Mutt’s bureau, I found a pair of yoga pants that might fit. I held them up.

“Oh, someone must have forgotten those.” He gave me a smug wink.

“Yeah, but are they clean?” I didn’t have a problem wearing old girlfriend clothes.

“If they’re in the drawer, they’re clean.”

Alcide strode out into the living space with a towel around his waist. “Who is that?” He pointed at me as I pulled on the yoga pants. My dress was now a long shirt; too bad half my cleavage still hung out.

“Never mind her. Where the fuck have you been, man? I’ve—we’ve been combing the streets for your body.” Mutt crossed his long leg over his knee. “And why are slayers after you?”

Alcide seemed to deflate before us. He puddled onto the couch next to Mutt and flung his arm over his eyes. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

I raised my eyebrow at Mutt, who rolled his eyes. Inching closer, I stayed on my feet behind Mutt’s chair with my gun in the palm of my hand. The bullets wouldn’t kill but would hurt. Alcide was Mutt’s friend, not mine. “You’d better explain soon before Mutt’s big brothers take an interest.”

Alcide jerked. “I want them to! I thought you couldn’t call them.”

“I can’t, but she can.” Mutt leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees. “Is that why you asked a few weeks ago?”

His friend sat up to face us, hands clasped together tight. “I think Cesio is breaking the breeding laws.”

A cold chill ran over my skin. The vampire nation had strict rules on creating new citizens. It all came down to supply and demand. Too many vampires meant more mouths to feed, which led to more humans being food and finding out about vampire existence.

“What proof do you have?” Setting my hand on the back of the chair, I took in Alcide’s scent to help judge if he spoke the truth.

“Proof? If I had that, then the Nosferatu would be in the city and Cesio would be dust. All I have are small pieces to a puzzle.” He hung his head, running his fingers through his wet hair. The gesture reminded me of Colby. “I fed what I knew to the slayer group that works for Master Tane in hopes they could inform him or find more evidence.”

“What?” My surprised question passed my lips before his words truly registered in my head. “You were working with the slayers?”

He nodded. “I was supposed to meet with my contact, one of their leaders, a few nights ago, but he never showed. He’s not answering his cell phone either. I’m getting worried.” His head shot up from their cradle. “Wait a minute.” He pointed at me. “You were in the motel room the other night and attacked me.”

I rolled the tension from my shoulders. He smelled of truth, or at least, he believed what he said was true. “You were walking into a trap. I saved your scrawny ass. They think you killed their friend. He was supposed to meet with you then vanished.” I groaned. Explaining this to Colby wouldn’t be easy. “I need to know everything. They still want to stake you.” I took a seat next to him, not letting the gun go.

He glanced at it. “You don’t trust me.”

“I don’t trust anyone.”

“And you’re not human.”

“I’m a shifter and, more importantly, I’m head of Master Tane’s security. If Cesio is breaking breeding laws, Master Tane needs to know.”

Alcide whistled and glanced at Mutt. “Are you in more trouble than me?”

Grinning, Mutt nodded. “Gwen is here to set me straight. If you answer her questions, I might consider not kicking your ass for not coming to me with this in the first place.”

The vampire swallowed visibly. “I wanted to, but I really don’t have any concrete evidence.” Alcide faced me. “It started with my human companion. She mentioned there was a flu affecting many of her friends, an anemic flu. It seems the sick were all low on blood, some needing transfusions. She was young, and all her friends liked to gather at the clubs. They’re easy prey. It was enough to set off my alarms. I told her to stay home in the evenings, unless I could accompany her, and went to some of the hospitals to discreetly question staff.” By discreetly, I assumed he meant he entranced them.

I leaned toward him. “Why concern yourself?” He didn’t hold any position of importance so he didn’t have to make such an effort.

He winced. “I liked her. My companion, she was fun and gentle. There’s not much gentleness in a vampire’s life. She was also headstrong and independent. Against my advice, she continued to go out on her own.”

“Liked?” I asked, noting his use of past tense.

“I found her at home, weak and helpless. No signs of abuse, but I did find a set of bite marks not belonging to me.” Alcide stared unseeing ahead, his thoughts focused inwards. “Someone else had fed from her to a dangerous level, but she couldn’t remember the event. At the hospital, she died. They said it was the anemic flu.”

I cleared my throat. He had cared for her, but love could be blind. The source of her mysterious bite seemed obvious to me however he didn’t appear to want to see it. Instead he conjured phantom plagues and mysterious plots. “Alcide, I still don’t see any connection to Cesio.” It took a lot of effort not to bitch slap some sense into the grieving vampire. His misguided theories might have cost Red his life.

“I’m getting to that.” He met my gaze, his eyes turning hard. “I know what you’re thinking. That she cheated on me. I thought the same at first, but what about all the others in the hospital?” Shaking his head, he leaned back on the couch. “Cesio’s smart.”

“The old ones always are.” So I’d been wrong. He could see beyond his heart. I should have known; I didn’t think Mutt would consider a fool his friend.

“Think about it. If he were breeding a small army, how can he feed them without drawing either human or Nosferatu attention? He can’t let his young vampires out in the street to hunt. Rising body counts would be all over the news and draw the Nosferatu.”

A cold lump of fear dropped into the pit of my stomach.

Mutt straightened in his chair. “He’s making it seem like an illness?”

Oh my God, the cold turned into nausea. “It’s a brilliant plan. Not everyone is dying?” I shot the question at Alcide.

“No, of course not. If they were, it would be all over the news. Even the number of humans falling ill are not overwhelming, just enough to make them scratch their heads.”

“If he spreads it out over the whole city so no one hospital is overwhelmed, then no alarms are set off. Nobody would notice the increase. With enough people recovering, the death counts are low.” I rubbed my temples. “Shit. So whoever is doing this has a food supply.”

“It’s Cesio.” Mutt folded his arms over his chest. “My gut is never wrong about these things.”

I snarled at no specific person, and it echoed against the empty warehouse walls. “I agree.”

Alcide’s eyes widened but he didn’t scoot away like most vampires would have. I liked him a little more for it.

Jumping to my feet, I had to pace to keep up with my racing thoughts. “You’re right. We can’t go to the Nosferatu with this yet. There’s nothing concrete. A few sick humans caused by vampires won’t bother anyone if the humans recover.” I stopped in my tracks in front of Alcide. “Why do you think Cesio is breeding?”

“The bite marks.” That made sense. Each vampire’s bite was different, almost like a fingerprint, but I was far from an expert on the subject. “The puncture holes were tiny, like made by thin needles. It’s probably why the doctors didn’t detect them. Young vampire’s baby teeth are formed this way—thin, translucent, and very, very sharp.”

“The young I’ve met don’t have much control over their hunger. I don’t understand why the death toll isn’t higher.” I hadn’t much experience with this. I dealt with the old, not the young.

Alcide shrugged. “Me neither. This is why I tried to find help.”

“But with slayers?” Mutt frowned. “Why not ask me?”

“What would you have done? If Cesio suspected you knew, he’d find a way to destroy you. It’s not a secret there’s no love lost between you. I needed someone objective.”

I sighed and stared at the concrete floor. “Except now they think you’re behind it. If I hadn’t shown up at the motel, your ass would have been ash.”

“I didn’t realize the girl was a lure. She was too easy, and I was so hungry. Real nice…” Alcide held his hands in front of his chest.

Classy.

“Enough.” Mutt’s voice cut like glass. “She’s off limits. She belongs to the slayers.” He twisted in his seat to face me. “So what do we do now?”

“I don’t know.”