Bitten 2 (36 page)

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff. Whatever this is, it’s way above my head.”

“So, what, I’m some kind of mutant or something? Why didn’t anyone catch this before?” I asked as my mind raced with images of the men in white lab coats showing up to drag me away to a secret government facility where they could dissect and examine me.

“No, nothing like that,” she replied, flashing me a genuine smile, though it did nothing to still the frantic thoughts spiraling in my head. “It’s probably just some kind of reaction from the vamp venom. I need to run more tests and talk to a couple of colleagues. Once I figure out something definitive, I’ll let you know.”

Seeing that I was far from being at ease, she reached across the table to squeeze my hand. “Really, you’ll be fine.”

My nerves were still on high alert, but I nodded as I set down my toast. “I’m not gonna sprout an extra head or anything in the meantime though, right?”

“No, Riley,” she chuckled. “Though maybe if you had another brain you’d be less likely to get into so much trouble.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” I grumbled, sticking my tongue out at her.

I knew so little about my own physiology that I had to accept her explanation, even if it’s rather unscientific nature left me unsettled. Accepting her brief assertion that there was nothing seriously wrong with me and that I wasn’t likely to drop dead anytime soon, I forced myself to finish breakfast and get dressed.

Alyssa remained uncharacteristically quiet during the ride from her house to Asylum, her thoughts elsewhere, and she only stopped long enough for me to hop out of the car and say thanks for her hospitality. Watching her taillights round the corner at the end of the block, I shook my head in confusion, deciding that it was still too damn early to figure out the inner workings of her mood swings.

I was relieved to find the SUV parked where I’d left it, and without a scratch, though the ticket tucked under the wiper didn’t help improve my mood. I wasn’t sure how I’d explain to Cordova that I’d lost his Escalade when I still wasn’t sure he’d forgiven me for borrowing his Ferrari. Still, it had been a hell of a lot of fun to drive, and totally worth inciting his wrath for a little while.

* * *

The small boost of energy I’d gotten from a few hours of sleep didn’t even last through half of the drive home. A nasty accident on the highway had brought traffic to a stand still for over an hour, burning through my reserves. Turning onto the gravel drive leading down to my cabin, all I wanted to do was put on my fuzzy pajamas, curl up with Loki, and go back to sleep. Yawning wide enough to bring tears to my eyes, I narrowly avoided side-swiping the nearly identical black SUV sitting in my driveway.

“Now what?” I asked in a growl, my shoulders tightening in irritation.

Tillman was already out of the SUV and waiting on the doorstep by the time I’d opened my door and slid down to the gravel. Weariness weighed down my limbs, reducing me to the shuffle of an arthritic grandma, and I wanted nothing more than to tell him to bugger off.

Instead, I raised a hand to shield my eyes from the glare of the early afternoon sun reflecting off the windows and asked, “Didn’t you get enough of me yesterday?”

I caught a minute twitch of his lips that might have been the beginnings of a smile before he smothered it and donned his professional, emotionless mask.

“I need to ask you some questions about the incident here the other day.”

“Oh, yeah. That.” In the excitement of the last few days I’d entirely forgotten about the dead coyote someone had dumped on my doorstep as a warning. I still didn’t know what it was a warning of, and I didn’t like that. I didn’t much like that something that dangerous could seem so insignificant compared to the other crazy happenings in my life, either. “You could have asked me last night.”

“You didn’t seem like you were in any condition to answer,” he said, raising an eyebrow, challenging me to deny the fact I’d gotten myself mixed up in some heavy shit.

Skating past his observation, I asked, “So you drove two hours just to come question me? I do have a phone, you know. You could’ve just called me.”

“I was headed to Idaho Springs and figured you weren’t too far out of my way.”

I turned a skeptical eye on him, knowing that my cabin wasn’t even close to Idaho Springs. Regardless of the suspect reason he gave, he’d clearly made a point of coming to see me.

He’s here now, there’s no point turning him away.

“Well, I guess you’d better come in.”

I stumbled toward the cabin, moving on legs that felt like they were made of rubber. No sooner had I set foot over the threshold then I was greeted by Loki serenading me with one of his trademark yowls and body-slamming my legs, the impact almost making me topple.

“Hey buddy. Missed you too,” I said, bending to scratch behind his ears, but he’d already dismissed me, and was making a beeline for Tillman.

Traitor.

Wasting little time on formalities, Tillman launched into the questions before I could even kick off my shoes. “What trouble have you gotten mixed up in now?”

I’d have taken offense at his assumption that I was in trouble if it wasn’t so painfully obvious. Ignoring his question, I shed my jacket, tossing it over the back of the couch and shuffled towards the kitchen. “Coffee first, questions after.”

Wisely, Tillman kept any protests he might have had to himself as he followed me, dodging around Loki’s persistent demands for attention. I desperately wanted a shower and some clean clothes, but I didn’t want to strain the tenuous good will growing between Tillman and me. For now, I’d have to content myself with an extra strong cup of coffee.

We shared an uncertain silence as the coffee maker hissed and gurgled. Lamenting the loss of the coveted brew I’d had my sticky fingers on for a few short moments at Asylum, I filled two mugs and ambled over to the small table in the kitchen. Tillman had already claimed a seat at the table, and was occupied with trying to keep Loki out of his lap, and failing miserably.

“Do you want something to eat?” I asked, figuring I could at least pretend to be a gracious host.

“No thanks. I stopped on the way up.”

“Good, ‘cause all I’ve got is some ketchup and maybe a packet or two of soy sauce that may, or may not, be expired.”

Tillman started to chuckle until he realized I was being serious, at which point his expression turned to one of pity. That was so much worse.

“Life of the starving artist, and all that,” I said, feeling the need to quantify my spartan lifestyle.

Sliding into my chair at the table, I figured I’d delayed as long as I could without pissing him off. Taking a fortifying gulp of coffee and tucking my feet beneath me on the chair, I asked, “So, what did you want to ask me?”

Across from me, the young agent shooed Loki off his lap long enough to pull a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his suit jacket and push it towards me.

“What’s this?” I asked, picking it up.

“Open it.”

Sighing, I set down my cup and unfolded the paper to reveal a photocopy of the note that had been left on my doorstep. I half expected it contain some kind of nasty curse that melted my face off given how well the last few days had gone, and let out a slow breath of relief when the sheet of paper appeared to offer no immediate threat.

“With Myrom’s regards,” Tillman said with a hint of irritation that made me cringe.

Blushing, I offered him a sheepish smile and was heartened when he just rolled his eyes at me and gestured for me to read it. The note’s meaning was as elusive as the first time I’d seen it—a handful of vague threats that gave no indication of the sender’s identity, or what it was that I was supposed to stay away from. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that whoever had written it was behind the attacks, but now that a were had been killed it muddled things a bit. Either the killer was branching out, or the were victim had been an act of retribution.

Neither option was good.

Hell, it could be from the queen of the fairies for all I know.

When I finished reading over the note, he said, “I know you’re tangled up in something; there’s no point denying it.”

“Fine, I won’t. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you what it is.”

I was startled when he slammed a hand down on the table, making our mugs rattle and coffee slosh across the table top, narrowly missing the photocopy I’d set down.

“Damn it, Riley. Stop being such a pain in the ass and tell me what’s going on!”

“I’m not doing this just to spite you,” I fired back, my own ire rising in response to the color in his cheeks and the anger flashing in his usually soft brown eyes.

“It sure does seem like it. How the hell does Darius put up with you? You’ve been nothing but trouble since the day we met.”

“Beats me. Why don’t you ask him?” I replied with a shrug.

For a second Tillman looked like he’d storm out of the door or reach across the table and slap me, and then his expression broke, his anger giving way to a begrudging chuckle.

“You’re infuriating, you know that?” he said, easing back in his chair.

Reaching for his mug, he took a sip of coffee, likely while trying to figure out just how much of a pain in the ass I could be. His frown shifted to a look of disgust as he set down the mug and pushed it away. Apparently coffee strong enough to strip paint wasn’t to his liking.

“I might have heard that once or twice,” I ventured, resettling myself with the same wariness he exhibited. In a split second, we seemed to have come back to our tentative truce, but it was still as delicate as a spider’s web, liable to be destroyed by the faintest whisper of anger.

“Will you at least confirm whether or not it involves the vampire murders? I’m guessing the attack on the were last night had something to do with that, too.”

I was so surprised by his question it didn’t occur to me to lie. “You guys know about those?”

“The local police are investigating; of course we know about them.” I could all but feel how much of a battle it was for him not to roll his eyes at me. Still, his tone of voice left me with no doubt he thought I was being slow.

“I didn’t think this fell under your jurisdiction.”

“It doesn’t. Which is why Denver PD is heading up the investigation, or rather, spinning their wheels, seeing as no one within the supernatural community will give up any information.”

“Well, that’s not surprising. Law enforcement hasn’t exactly extended a helping hand to the supernatural community. They...
we
... are persecuted and vilified for everything that’s wrong with this country. Most of the time the police treat the victim of an anti-supe crime as if they’re to blame, like we brought it on ourselves. Can you really blame everyone for being so tight-lipped?”

“It’s not like—”

“Bullshit!” I snapped, cutting off his protests. Seeing the flare of anger in his eyes, I swallowed back the venom that lay heavy on my tongue and tried to gentle my voice. “It’s
exactly
like that. And it doesn’t stop there. The vamps won’t talk to the weres, and the weres won’t talk to anyone outside the pack. Don’t even get me started on the fae—they’re an entity unto themselves. It’s like dealing with a bunch of three year olds who don’t want to share their toys.” I hadn’t realized how irritated I was at the situation until the words left my mouth, and I found myself raking a hand through my hair in imitation of Holbrook’s frustrated gesture.

“I take it you’re not making a lot of headway then?” he asked, the smug smile tugging at the corners of his mouth making me want to dump my coffee in his lap.

“You could say something like that,” I muttered, reluctant to admit just how little information I’d been able to dig up. Saying I wasn’t a detective was a gross understatement, but I’d still thought I would be able to find
something
. As it turned out, my skills were nowhere near my inflated estimation of myself.

“What’s your next step?” he asked, abandoning his superior smile in favor of sounding genuinely interested.

Besides going back to Asylum to rip Cordova a new one?
I thought, unwilling to voice the question out loud in case he tried to dissuade me from what I knew was a crazy idea. Scary master vamp or not, I wasn’t going to let Cordova get away with sanctioning a revenge killing. Even if it did turn out to be a were murdering the vamps, that didn’t mean it was okay for his undead cronies to take matters into their own clammy hands. If I didn’t put a stop to it soon, things would spiral out of control, and then we’d all be screwed.

I shuddered at the thought of what an all-out war amongst the supes would look like. “No idea, but I’m open to suggestions.”

“Quit while you’ve still got a heartbeat.”

I would’ve laughed at Tillman’s suggestion if he hadn’t looked so serious.

“I wish it was that simple, but it’s not,” I said, rubbing a hand across my face.

“Why not?”

“I have to finish this.”

“Why?”

The lack of challenge or derision in his voice was the only thing that kept me from responding with a snide comment I would be sure to regret later.