Promise Me Anthology (15 page)

“No, Idiot,” Dev griped. “I said she found
him, not that he found her. She sprained her finger and went to the
ER that afternoon—”

The footsteps were almost inside the clearing
where Danial’s tent was. Danial finished tying his shoes, shrugged
on a hooded sweatshirt, then pulled on gloves. There was nothing
more to be done to cover up, damn it; he hadn’t brought a ski mask.
“Will you get to the point?”

“The twit caught Jonas and a friend working
over a newly dead car accident casualty.”

Not surprising. Jonas worked in the morgue
more for the blood than the paycheck. “Why are you bothering me for
this? Send her ex to bring her to you. You can convince her to keep
quiet, or Lash can dispose of the body. It’s a simple solution
either way.”

“Can’t. Jonas took too long covering up. By
the time he had, she’d blabbed to her friends. They don’t believe
her, of course, but that could change if she disappears—”

The footsteps went to the door of the tent,
then suddenly veered off, moving past it.

Danial sagged in relief. Thank God. If he’d
had to kill someone, it’d be hell getting their body out of here
unnoticed, not to mention the shot might be overheard. Any shot
outside hunting season would provoke interest, especially inside a
public park.

“—
Jonas is worried she’ll come back
with the police—”

“More likely she’ll demand he turn her in
return for her silence,” Danial mused. “That would be the easiest
all around, Dev. You could always kill her if she doesn’t behave
once she’s under your rule.”

“Much as that’s tempting, no,” Dev said
firmly. “She’s only sixteen. The age laws are one of the few I
strictly enforce.” His tone became sarcastic. “That’s where
Solutions, Inc. comes in. Find me a solution.”

There wasn’t another easy one that came to
mind. “If I find you a solution, what’s my payment? Money isn’t
enough.”

“You wanted to be closer to a city,” Devlin
said enticingly. “What about trading the rural West for the hustle
and bustle of the East?”

Danial did a double take. Dev couldn’t mean
it, not after what had happened last time. “You’re offering me my
own state?”

“I’m offering you a shot at New York with my
blessing,” Dev corrected. “Garrett is not even a fourth of your
age. You can win easily if you fight him.”

Danial snorted. “That means he’s going to
fight fang and talon to keep it. I’ve been there before, Dev. Not
enough. Besides, I’ve grown accustomed to the freedom of not having
a territory to rule—”

“Then what about some steady lucrative work?”
Dev offered. “As you’re aware, I’m in a position of power and I
have allies. You’ve always wanted to expand your business. Here’s
your chance. Take the position and I’ll throw in the work as
incentive.”

This was the perfect offer, which meant there
was something dark and oily unseen underneath. “What do you get out
of this?” Danial said suspiciously. “You want this much more than
you’re telling. If Garrett’s young, he’s no threat to you.”

“I have my reasons,” Dev said cryptically.
“But make your own choice. Let me know at your earliest
convenience. In person.” Click.

Rain pattered lightly on the tent roof, then
pounded as if buckets were being dumped on the fabric. A crack of
thunder sounded.

Danial put down the phone, blinked at the
display, then groaned. It was late afternoon. There was no way to
fit more sleep in before he left for his stakeout tonight.

There was a frantic rubbing at the tent door
fabric. “Excuse me? Can I come in?”

Shit. Danial leaned back out of daylight
range of the door. “Who is it?”

A young woman unzipped the tent door and then
stumbled inside, her muddy clothing soaked. “Cami. Thanks. It’s
pouring and I can’t find the trail markers—”

“Sure, come in and dry off,” Danial offered
with a sexy smile, moving backwards into the darkness as he pulled
off his gloves. “Just please zip the door after you. I don’t want
to get wet.”

* * * *

As soon as it was dusk, Danial packed up his
tent and gear and left the campsite. By that time, Cami was awake
and showing no ill effects of the half pint of blood she’d lost. He
dropped her off near her car, pale and swooning goodbyes as if he’d
saved her from marauding pirates instead of a little rainstorm.

He had overdone it a bit with the poetry,
perhaps. Still, Cami had saved him a lot of time and discomfort,
not to mention her fresh blood had been much more satisfying than
the packaged blood he’d brought with him. A little romance was the
least he could do in return.

* * * *

An hour later, Danial resumed his vigil at
the construction site, this time from a new position behind a stack
of fresh lumber. There was no sign of anyone yet. To keep his mind
sharp, he began going over all he knew.

An unidentified person had been seen lurking
after dark by several employees. Some building materials had been
stolen, chiefly the easier ones to resell, like the portable power
tools and the mobile generators. There were no cameras except those
within the central trailer the foreman used as an office, so there
was no witness to the theft. The tools had been stored in a locked
portable building that showed no signs of breaking and entering.
The foreman had questioned all employees and exonerated them,
blaming the unidentified stranger for the theft.

It seemed a straight case of embezzlement
done from inside in Danial’s estimation. Either way, he’d find out
soon enough.

As had happened the previous night, there
came the sound of a trashcan lid being lifted slowly, then some
plastic began rustling. Danial left his hiding spot, this time
ghosting along the far side of the building silently until he’d
come up behind the searching figure, his pistol aimed and
cocked.

“Don’t move or I’ll shoot—!”

The figure whirled, the lid slamming into
Danial like an oversize Frisbee. He grunted, but didn’t drop the
gun. His shot aimed for the figure’s torso instead hit its neck.
With a yelp, it crumpled.

Danial moved closer to the gasping figure.
The skinny blond man in his early twenties clutched his neck.
Surprisingly there wasn’t much blood. “Who are you and what’s your
business here?”

The figure coughed, spitting out blood. “My
name’s Theo. I was just trying to scrounge a little food. Why the
hell did you shoot me?”

“You moved. Now tell me where and to whom
you’re reselling the tools.”

Theo sat cross-legged, rubbing his neck.
“That’s not me, smartshit. The supervisor’s the one stealing. He’s
got a helper, too, but I don’t know his name.”

Danial nodded. “I suspected as much. How do
you fit into this?”

Theo sneered. “I don’t. Like I said, I just
wanted food.” He got to his feet, then faced Danial. “And that gun
isn’t going to be much use against me.”

Theo’s neck wound was healed, new skin
showing through the drying blood.

Danial holstered his gun. “You’re a were of
some kind. What?”

“Cougar,” Theo grated out. “Are we done?”

Sounds of feet approaching came suddenly.

“Hide,” Danial said, ducking down. Theo also
crouched, the both of them watching the building.

Three men came into sight, all carrying drawn
guns. “I heard a shot,” one said, gesturing with his gun. “Go find
out who’s here and get rid of them. I’ll get the stuff.”

The leader headed into the building. The
other two men spread out and began searching, heading directly
toward Danial and Theo.

Danial turned to Theo. “Do you want to help
or leave?”

Theo nodded. “I’ll help.”

“Wait for my signal.”

The men crept closer as Danial and Theo
waited silently. As the first passed Danial, he shoved hard,
knocking the man off his feet, the gun clattering into the shadows.
Theo punched the other, who went flying ten feet.

Danial glared over at Theo as they tied up
the men with some bungee cords from Danial’s pocket. “Why’d you hit
him so hard? You not only broke his jaw, you also knocked him
unconscious.”

“Their stealing made my life harder and it
was already bad,” Theo growled.

“Watch these two,” Danial replied,
exasperated. “I’ll be back with the last one.”

He ran off quickly, slipping into the
building after the leader. Danial found him transferring power
tools from metal shelving into several boxes. With a light push,
Danial knocked him sprawling.

“Your boss is going to be surprised,” Danial
said with a smile, handcuffing the disoriented man to the shelves.
“He swore you could be trusted.” He got out his phone and began
dialing.

“Let me go,” the man groaned, his eyes
panicked. “I can’t go back to prison—”

“Sit tight,” Danial replied coolly, hanging
up the phone and leaving. “You won’t be alone long.”

* * * *

An hour before dawn, Danial returned to the
construction site. After a few minutes, Theo appeared.

“It went fine, in case you’re curious,”
Danial said, irritated. “We could’ve used your statement, though.
It was my word against theirs.”

“Then I’d have to explain what I was doing
here,” Theo shot back. “Why were they stealing?”

“Just in it for the money,” Danial said,
studying Theo. “What were you doing here?”

“Nothing,” Theo said bleakly, turning away.
“Just go away and leave me alone.”

There was potential opportunity here, no
question
, Danial thought. “You helped me. I’d like to treat you
to a shower and some food in appreciation.”

Theo turned around, sarcastic. “Who are you?
How did I get blessed to have a benevolent vampire as my guardian
angel?”

“I’m Danial. I do detective work,
mainly.”

“Crimes?”

“Mysteries, usually. Sometimes they’re tame.
About six months ago I took a case where a family’s two cats went
missing.”

“Who calls a detective for a missing
cat?”

“They called me in when they found a white
bone of a front paw sticking up in their flower bed like a plea for
help.”

Theo grimaced. “What was the mystery?”

“Strange, actually. A neighbor boy was
interested in the girl. He’d tried to kidnap the cat so he could
return it and be a hero. Instead, it had dashed away from him as
he’d chased it and gotten hit. He buried it out of respect, not
because he was trying to scare anyone. He felt terrible.”

“And the other cat?”

“He was several houses over, locked in a
neighbor’s shed by accident.” Danial smiled. “One of the happy
endings.”

“That’s the tame end of the spectrum. Give me
an example of the other end.”

“Last year I spent a month shadowing a killer
who was going after blonde has-been cheerleaders at high school
reunions—”

“Serial killers frequent high school
reunions?”

“Frequently. Where else do people trust a
name card to identify a person they can’t recognize?”

Theo shrugged. “You’ve got a point. Do you
only do murders?”

Danial laughed. “I do anything I’m interested
in. If you partner with me, I’ll give you a say in what cases you
handle, at least some of them.”

“Are they always humans?”

“Mostly other than human, actually. I just
took the cat one because I have a soft spot for cats.” Danial
opened his wallet, took out some money and offered it to Theo. “For
your help tonight. No strings.”

Theo took it. “Thanks.”

Danial walked away. “Take care of yourself,
Theo.”

“Wait.”

Danial stopped. “Yes?”

“Are there any cases you’ve committed to
already nearby?” Theo said slowly.

Danial nodded. “There’s an amusement park
that’s supposedly haunted that’s next on my calendar. If there’s
anything to the story, it won’t be a tame one. Interested?”

Theo’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re shitting
me.”

Danial laughed for the first time in ages.
“I’m due there in two days. You want to meet me or not?”

Theo nodded. “I’ll be there.”

* * * *

Theo was waiting when a showered and rested
Danial pulled up in front of the rusted gates of Fantasy Land a
night later.

“I couldn’t believe this was the place,” Theo
said, walking over. “It looks like it’s out of business.”

“That’s because it is,” Danial said, checking
his gun. “The new owners want to tear the place down and build a
new mall.”

“What happened?”

“A teenage couple crept in here to have sex.
They were found the next morning dead in each other’s arms. The
media frenzy has panicked the investors. Two have already backed
out of the project. The owners need this solved fast before the
rest pull their funding.”

“Why a media frenzy? They might have had a
suicide pact, or—”

“They had cuts all over their body, so many
they were almost completely exsanguinated of blood. There was no
weapon found.”

Theo made a face. “I’m guessing you ruled out
vampires already. Any other ideas?”

Danial rummaged in the back seat. “No. I
favor a human killer who was jealous as the culprit. That’s the
usual motive in a crime like this.”

Theo leaned against the truck, incredulous.
“What do you do if the cause isn’t human? Do you have access to
magic?”

Danial chuckled, slipping a vial into his
pocket. “Yes, to a small extent. Come on, the night is
wasting.”

Opening the locked gate with a key, Danial
and Theo entered the park. The night was balmy, the dry air cool on
their faces. They wandered down one path, then another, passing
rides, empty concession stands, and vacant game booths, a few dusty
faded prizes still hanging from hooks.

“Sense anything?” Danial asked. “I
don’t.”

“I smell stale popcorn faintly,” Theo
replied. “But nothing supernatural. Where did the murders take
place?”