Way of the Wolf: Shifter Legacies 1 (48 page)

“In LA? Years I guess.”

“Exactly. The Houses are the reason for that. They control their people absolutely. You think they’re doing a bad job? Look at Chicago or New York if you want to know what will happen here without strong House leadership.”

“So what went wrong if your four Houses are so great?”

“They’re not my Houses. I told you, they’re for vamps, like packs are for shifters. The Angels are my crew; they’re my House and pack.”

“Damn straight,” Flex rumbled.

Chris sneered at him, but her heart wasn’t really in it. “You still haven’t said what went wrong with O’Neal.”

“Like shifters, the vamp Houses control territories in the city. The entire thing has been parcelled out with borders and everything. They don’t intersect. The shifters have their territories too, some within vamp borders, some not, and then you have the human gangs like The Angels. Most don’t give a fuck about the monster’s territories because they’re stupid; they’re in a constant war with them because of it. Not being an idiot, I’ve made it my business to know how to deal with the monsters. The Angels are in a good place because I have allies. We fight who I say when I say and only
if
I say. I don’t do wars, they’re expensive.”

“Yeah, and we’re not talking money,” Flex said.

Chris nodded. “So what went wrong?”

“A vampire in Chicago got ambitious a few years back. His name was Alexander. He built an empire out of his House and went to war with everyone else. He got cocky and it all blew up in his face. The feds got into it and Alexander’s House imploded. Vamps call it the Shadow War now. Alexander’s crew, the survivors anyway, scattered across the Republic. Most have been hunted down now by vamps who want a quiet life and don’t need rogues entering their territories making trouble. Most, get it?”

Chris groaned.

“Yeah,” Angel said sourly. “We think one of them wants to set up a House here, but so far we haven’t found him or her, and believe me we’ve been looking.”

“So the new guy or gal is making trouble for our home-grown vamps?”

“That’s about the size of it,” Angel agreed with a small nod. “We think he’s building an army to use against the Houses. Maybe old John escaped somehow, or maybe his master let him go for his own reasons. We don’t know. Our necromancer will ask him about it among other things. As soon as we have a location, all hell is going to rain on his arse.”

Chris grunted. “I want in.”

Angel looked doubtful.

“I’m sure you can talk to someone.”

“I can ask, but I don’t see them agreeing. They don’t like airing dirty laundry in front of witnesses.”

“Especially not in front of cops,” Flex said. “What can you offer them but official notice and trouble?”

She couldn’t think of anything, but they owed her. Maybe that would move them? “Tell your vamp he owes me.”

Angel snorted.

“Seriously. Tell him that his incompetence nearly killed me that night and see what he says.”

Angel’s eyes bugged. “You have got to be kidding! I can’t say that!”

“Of course you can. Tell you what, give me the link when you have him on the line and I’ll tell him.”

“Ha-ha—no,” Angel deadpanned. “I’ll ask him.”

“Suit yourself,” she said, secretly pleased with the situation. “Call.”

“I told you, he won’t be awake yet.”

“Awake, right.” Chris checked the time on her wristband but they had a couple of hours until sunset. “I’m going to get a drink. Want anything?”

Angel shook her head.

“Suit yourself.”

Chris went to the bar for a couple of beers. When she came back to the table with two open bottles of Empire, she found Flex arguing with Angel, but they went quiet as soon as she was close enough to hear them clearly. She didn’t care. Flex probably wanted Angel to ditch her, but that wasn’t happening. She was determined to meet the swordsman. She took her seat and slowly drank beer, waiting for sunset.

When the time came, Angel pulled out her link and made the call. “Mister Gavin, it’s me... yeah I know. This is kind of an unusual situation. No, not that kind of danger... or that kind either. Listen, I have someone here who wants to meet you. She says you owe her,” Angel winced and listened intently. “She’s a cop. No, but if I don’t bring her to you I have a feeling she won’t go away.”

“You got that right,” she said and Angel waved her silent.

“Okay if you say it’s alright. Yeah, I’ll bring her now. Okay, bye.” She put away her link. “I’m to bring you to him.”

“I heard.”

“Now is when you get to change your mind. If I take you to him and it goes bad, don’t come crying to me when you end up dead.”

She snorted.

“I’m not kidding,” Angel said seriously. “If you come after me with fangs in your mouth, I’ll stake you quicker than you can blink.”

Chris believed her. “I would probably let you. I’d rather be dead than a bloodsucker.”

Angel stood. “You have wheels?”

She nodded and led the way to her car.

* * *

27 ~ House Lochlain

“Do you keep in touch with the others?” Chris asked as she negotiated traffic.

“No.”

“At all?”

Angel shrugged. “Most of them got out of the life years ago. That or they’re dead. The only thing still the same at the Rascals is the name.”

“TC still leads it.”

“I know.”

“You don’t talk? You used to be tight.”

“Yeah well, shit happens.”

She frowned. She knew what had happened but didn’t want to bring up Danny’s death again. “This vamp, how well do you know him?”

“Well enough to know that if you cross him you won’t live long enough to do it again.”

“Is that supposed to frighten me?”

“It’s supposed to warn you, but take it however you want. Mister Gavin and the Angels have a working relationship—”

She snorted her derision of that notion. “Don’t pretty it up for me. He’s one of the monsters, and it disgusts me that you work for him.”

“Think what you want, but we don’t work for him. We work
with
him and the others in Monster Central. We do better than most. Don’t believe me? Ask around. Fighting the vamps and furries is a waste of time and effort. There’s no way to win.”

“You’ve got that right,” Flex said from the back seat. “You annoy them and they either make you into one of them or they make you disappear.”

Angel nodded. “We have Lochlain protection because we’re useful. Staying useful is my current goal in life.”

Flex chuckled.

“Lochlain?”

“House Lochlain,” Angel said. “You’ll meet the master of the House soon enough. I suggest you think of something polite to say before we get there.”

“Fuck polite, I want answers.”

“You won’t get them with that attitude, I can tell you that. He’s over six hundred years old,
de-tec-tive
. If you want him to even notice you’re in the room, you better have something to say worth listening to.”

She fumed, but she did want answers. She was still inclined to go in demanding them, but her earlier idea might work better. A six hundred year old vamp was probably old school. The old tended to cling to tradition and look back at the past wearing rose tinted glasses. She bet someone as old as this vamp would be even more likely to follow outdated concepts. Did he look back and not see poverty and disease but chivalry? Did he remember open sewers and not smell it, but remember with fondness riding the streets on horseback? She bet he did, she just bet he did. If she went in there and made him acknowledge his debt to her, she might gain the answers she sought. It was a plan. A good one? That remained to be seen, but it did have merits—the main one being she didn’t have another.

Angel indicated a place to park and Chris pulled up. They climbed out and the girl crossed the road toward an apartment building, her leather trench coat billowing behind her as the wind gusted along the empty street. Chris and Flex flanked the girl as they pushed through the doors into the lobby. It was a well-lit and clean space. She couldn’t remember ever being called out to a murder scene here. There were still places in the city that she hadn’t seen the inside of for work, but not many this size. She could tell it had been converted from a hotel to apartments; it still had the front desk, and it was manned.

Angel approached the man holding down the desk and nodded to him. “Frank.”

“Miss,” Frank acknowledged, looking hard at Chris. “Mister Lochlin is expecting you. “You want me to come up?”

“Nah, I’ve got her.”

Chris scowled.

“You be careful. He’s got visitors and they weren’t happy.”

“Yeah? Anyone I know?”

“Stephen and a new wolf he picked up somewhere. Rachelle was with them. She brought that witch of hers along. It’s her you should be careful of.”

“Rachelle?”

“The witch. She’s dark, Spence says.”

“Is he here too?”

Frank nodded. “He really doesn’t like her; told me she reeks of the black.”

“Yeah, I know. We’ve met.”

Frank’s eyebrows climbed.

Angel turned away and headed for the elevators.

“Did I hear that right? He’s got a black witch up there?”

“A necromance, yeah. You heard right.”

“Is she the one...?”

Angel nodded.

She felt better knowing that. She was finally getting somewhere. The witch was probably here to report on what she’d learned from O’Neal, and she wanted to know that real bad. She was determined to take down O’Neal’s maker through fair means or foul. And she guessed it would be foul. The case was closed. Cappy would try to reopen it if she went to him and was persuasive enough, but he would come up against resistance from the Chief and the Mayor above him. Those two were in each other’s pockets. Politics was the enemy of good police work. She sneered at the thought of trying to reopen the case when the Mayor wanted it to go away. It would never happen. No, this had to be handled on the down low, and Angel’s vamp was already on the case. She didn’t have to handle it alone.

The elevator let them out on the top floor, and Angel led the way. A door to the left opened as they walked by, but the girl took no notice. Chris noted the old lady standing there, glaring at her. What was her problem? Another door opened further along, and a man and boy stepped out to watch them in silence. What in the nine hells was this? Another door opened and another. She stopped to look back. All the apartment doors were open now and the occupants had come out into the hall to stare at them. They weren’t friendly.

Angel stopped to look back. “You coming?”

Chris waved a hand at the crowd.

“Don’t worry about them, they belong to House Lochlain.”

“Belong?” she said rejoining the girl. “What does that mean?”

“It means what it means. They’re under Lochlain protection, and in return, they protect the House. They’re Mister Gavin’s people. Everyone in the building belongs to him.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. What, they were his servants, slaves... food? Her lip curled in disgust at the thought, and Angel laughed.

“They aren’t prisoners,
de-tec-tive
. You really don’t know anything, do you? How can you do your thing in Monster Central and not know this stuff? No wonder the newsies think the cops can’t find their butts with both hands. They’re right!”

“I do my thing just fine thanks,” she said, stung. “Ask the vamps and shifters I’ve dealt with if they liked it.”

“Any of them still breathing? I remember how quick on the trigger you are.”

Chris lowered her voice. “When will you let it go? I’m sorry he’s dead. How many times can I say it before you’ll believe me? Nothing can bring Danny back. I would if I could.”

Angel turned away as her answer and Chris sighed.

Flex smirked.

Angel knocked on one of the apartment doors. It was the only one still closed. Chris shuffled her feet uncomfortable with all the staring tenants. It was creepy as hell the way they silently watched her. And it
was
her they were interested in, not Angel or Flex. They were very obviously focused upon her, even the kids. She shivered, wondering what they would do if she did something they didn’t like. She wasn’t willing to find out.

The door opened to reveal a woman in red satin shirt and blue jeans. “Oh hey, Angel.”

“Hey, Sandy. He’s expecting me.”

The woman nodded jingling the keys she was holding as she stepped out into the hall. “I was just leaving. Go on through.”

Angel exchanged places with her. “Thanks.”

Sandy smiled and walked along the hall to unlock her door. She stopped to look back and wave. Angel raised a hand in answer and entered the apartment.

“Girlfriend?” she asked and Flex coughed trying to cover a smirk.

Angel shook her head and locked the door before moving deeper into the apartment. “Breakfast.”